Goodbye My Friend
by Christina B
Summary: This is Sirius Black's POV on the events that would forever shape the rest of his life. Songfic


AN: This is a story I wrote for a challenge, the song is Goodbye by the band formerly known as Audio Adrenaline. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter though it would be nice if I did.

**Goodbye My Friend**

_You'll be fine tomorrow  
The sun will rise again  
It's never easy to say goodbye  
You know I'll always love you  
You know I always will_

"Are you sure about this, Sirius?" James Potter asked his best friend in an uncharacteristic anxious voice.

"Absolutely," Sirius replied with a reassuring grin. "He is bound to think that I am the Secret Keeper, there is no reason to worry. Peter is the perfect decoy."

"True," James agreed with a nod, though his expression didn't change. "But what about you? How are you going to protect yourself?"

Sirius snorted, "Don't worry about me, Prongs. They will never find me when I'm Padfoot, and that way Peter will never have to worry about them coming after him."

James grinned, thinking of his friend's canine alter ego.

"You need to do the Fidelius tonight," Sirius urged. "Or it might be too late."

James frowned, an unpleasant thought occurring not for the first time in the last couple of days. "Why does He even want to kill Harry? I still don't understand this."

Sirius shrugged. "No clue, Dumbledore didn't tell the source of his information did he?"

James shook his head. "No, he didn't."

Suddenly both men realized at the same time that they were being watched, and looked up to see a redheaded woman standing silently in the doorway. Her arms were full; in one hand she was holding a squirming one year old boy, and in the other a copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard in her other.

She smiled at them gently before addressing her husband with an amused tone to her voice. "Harry wants 'dada' to read him his bedtime story tonight."

James chuckled and took Harry and the book in his hands. What story shall I read to you tonight son?" he asked the boy curiously as he flipped through the book one handed. "How about the story of the Three Brothers?"

Harry it seemed didn't really care what he read, he just focused on smacking the book, and ended up knocking it out of James' hand. This apparently was hilarious because Harry giggled like crazy.

Sirius took the opportunity to pull his cloak on before he picked up the book and handing it back to James. "I need to get going, I'm meeting Peter later in an hour, and I will send him over later so you can finish the charm."

"Be careful," Lily said.

Sirius chuckled, "You know me."

"That's why I said it," Lily retorted.  
Harry was suddenly reaching out for Sirius and James promptly put the little boy in his arms. "Now you be good for your parents, Harry," Sirius said seriously.

It was James that snorted this time. "Never thought I would see the day when Sirius Black sounds responsible," he replied jokingly.

Sirius smirked, "Well I am his godfather after all, I need to be a good influence—at least until he goes to Hogwarts."

"And I WAS so impressed," Lily commented with a sigh.

Sirius returned his attention to Harry and kissed the little boy on the cheek before returning him to his father's arms.

Lily stepped forward and gave Sirius a hug. "Thanks for everything," she said sincerely.

"Any time," Sirius replied.

"See you, mate," James said to Sirius giving him a high five.

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I will see you soon." With that he said his final farewells and Sirius Black left the little cottage in Godric's Hollow.

_Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye  
My old friend  
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye  
We've reached the end_

The memory of his last visit with the Potters seared through Sirius' head with sharp precision and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get it out of his mind. James and Lily trusted him with their lives to make the right call, and Sirius had done the absolute worst thing he could've done. He chose Peter to be the Secret Keeper and Peter told Voldemort where the Potters were hiding. Never in Sirius Black's life had he ever felt so utterly guilty and never before was his furious anger as black as his name.

It seemed almost fitting that this night was Halloween, the night of chills and thrills because nothing was such a big shock to Sirius' system as the realization that the Potters were attacked in Godric's Hollow. James and Lily were betrayed by a man they thought was a friend, and murdered in their own home. The fact that Harry was still alive was nothing short of a miracle and not only that but the fact that the little toddler, small though he was, actually defeated Lord Voldemort.

Sirius powered up his enchanted motorcycle, straddled the machine and with one fluid movement he adjusted the clutch and jerked the steering wheel back to send him soaring up into the starry blackness of night. The joy that he normally felt whenever he flew the motorcycle was lost on him, and the feeling that he would never be happy again threatened to consume him. It was then as he flew towards Godric's Hollow that the tears finally came crashing down.

It wasn't difficult to see the Potter's home from a distance since the whole place was completely ripped apart and was still smoldering from the small fires scattered throughout the remains of the cottage. Sirius' heart went into his throat as his keen eyes searched the area looking everywhere for Harry. Not seeing him from the air, Sirius pulled in for a landing, nearly getting a flat tire on some of the sharp rubble.

Jumping off the bike he picked his way carefully through the mess looking for the child, but he could hear Harry crying in the distance and he was soon able to find the little boy. Harry was screaming at the top of his lungs and it was no wonder that he was seeing as he was obviously terrified. And then Sirius noticed something else with a shudder of horror he saw a cut on the boy's forehead shaped like a bolt of lightning. There was only one thing that could make a cut like that.

Sirius pulled his godson into his arms hugging him tightly to his chest. "Its ok Harry," you're going to be fine."

"Let me 'ave him Sirius," came an all too familiar voice. Sirius looked up to see Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper standing there with his arms outstretched.

"I'm his godfather," Sirius protested. "I'm supposed to look after him."

"Dumbledore want him ter live with his Aunt and Uncle," Hagrid replied. "I 'ave me orders."

Sirius wanted to say no and just leave with Harry, but he knew Dumbledore would make sure Harry was taken care of. And besides Sirius had some unfinished business to attend to.

Sirius gave Harry one last kiss before passing him to Hagrid. "Take the bike."

* * *

"You are going to pay for what you did!" Sirius roared stalking over to where Peter Pettigrew stood, with his wand out and ready for the kill.

But all too fast Peter's wand was out and a curse blew up the entire street. Sirius felt his body being lifted in the air with the impact, and come crashing down on the pavement. He knew he would be stiff and sore for many days but he was unhurt. The same couldn't be said for the Muggles in the area, Sirius knew at once that several of them had been killed from the blast.

The whole scenario was just too much for Sirius to take it, the whole comedy of horrors that led to this moment was just unreal, and he was so overwhelmed with emotion by the time that the Ministry showed up to take him to Azkaban, that his tears had turned to an unbelievable laughter.

_I don't cry with sorrow, I cry with joy  
The memories we made can't be destroyed  
You know I won't forget you  
You know I never could  
And when I said I loved you  
You know I meant for good_

It had been twelve years, twelve very long depressing years and Sirius was finally free. Life in Azkaban was hell on earth, nobody could deny that. And the fact that he had not only been able to keep his sanity, but also to escape were the very few highlights he'd had in an entire decade.

Sirius had so much time to fume, suffer from his guilt, and the fact that he was completely innocent made it in some ways easier and in other ways harder to bear. The dementors sucked away all his happiness, but when he transformed into his dog form, things became a little easier to bear, and though it wasn't a permanent solution, it was satisfying while it lasted. He had thought about escape, but it was only a passing idle thought for many years, because in some ways Sirius felt he deserved some of the suffering for not being the Potter's Secret Keeper. But things all changed when Cornelius Fudge came for a visit.

Upon spotting Peter in his rat form on Fudge's copy of the Daily Prophet it became Sirius' mission to escape and go to Hogwarts. He'd already failed James and Lily and it was time to avenge them once and for all. Especially because thirteen year old Harry Potter now attended the school. It was time to meet his godson at last.

Sirius couldn't help but wonder how Harry was doing, and the questions he had about the boys welfare made him wonder many times. But if he was anything like his parents he would have a good heart, and Sirius was sure that Harry was already making all of them proud.

_Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye  
My old friend  
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye  
We've reached the end_

The last couple years since Sirius had escaped from Azkaban had been both extremely rewarding and also very difficult to stand. Harry was indeed everything and more that Sirius expected him to be, and Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger stuck with him through thick and thin. His initial plan to capture Peter Pettigrew at last almost succeeded, but Severus Snape's interference and Remus Lupin's transformation into a werewolf ruined things for him in the end.

Still it was wonderful for Sirius to finally get to know his godson, and to finally be able to do the things for Harry that Sirius should've been doing all along. While on the run Sirius hid away in the south for a time, and then in a cave close to Hogwarts, but he was always fortunate not to be found. The fact that he was an unregistered Animagi was perhaps the biggest asset in his arsenal.

When Sirius finally did live in a home again it was unfortunately the same dreary place he grew up in. 12 Grimmauld Place was never a place he had enjoyed calling home. For it to become like a prison for him again did nothing to improve his mood. In fact Sirius would almost prefer hiding out again, but Dumbledore knew best and that meant that he had to stay in the old home that had become headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix.

Still when he heard that Harry was in danger in the Department of Mysteries, he didn't think twice.

* * *

It felt good to be fighting Death Eaters again, almost as good as it felt during those times he fought with the Order when he was still a young man. He was completely and truly happy to be once again fulfilling a commitment to protect Harry and to fight against Voldemort's forces. The only thing that could've made it sweeter was if Sirius was able to finally get his hands on Peter.

But still fighting his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange was almost just as good, and he despised and loathed her more than anyone else in his existing family. They'd never really gotten along, and things grew progressively worse after Sirius stunned the Black family by being sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.

Sirius raised his wand, ready to curse her with his next breath, laughing as though it were some sort of game. But as Bellatrix' curse struck him; Sirius knew with his last breath that this was when it all would end.

_You know I'll always love you  
Goodbye_


End file.
